It's just about final deadline times for Amazon Christmas Delivery so I thought it might be worth just offering this up to your nearest and dearest...
UPDATE:
1. Bad Science
Somewhere between Euston and Mornington Crescent on my journey home tonight, it occured to me that if you're reading a blog about this social stuff, then you must have read or at least heard of Clay's stuff, or know about it directly or indirectly. Far more interesting (particularly for those of you outside the UK), for you is going to be Ben Goldacre's Bad Science book which punctures the baloon of scientism (things that look and sound like scientific things but aren't at all). Marvel at the slaughtering of the "Poo Lady" and the whole 'nutritional science' schtick; cheer at the debunking of the anti-MMR vaccination campaign. But most of all learn to be wary of folk who want to exploit (y)our shared scientific illiteracy. And how to ask them they difficult questions they don't want you to ask...
1. Here Comes Everybody
Clay's articulation of the mass collaboration theme is probably the best of the crop (narrowly pipping We-think, for my money). If you haven't read this, you've not been paying attention, bloggersphere...
2. On Guerilla Gardening
The manual of one of the great collaborations in the 3rd Space (neither Public nor Private Sector but sort of in between) AKA how to build a community through practice. And the fella's a planner, too...
3. The Big Sort Bill Bishop's fantastic analysis of why US society is becoming more and more polarised (or should that be "polariZed"?). Copying, belonging and other social stuff play a huge role here
4. Inner Fish Neil Shubin's extraordinarily well-argued case for seeing the genetic history we share with the whole of the animal kingdom in both our genes and the structure of our bodies. I like a book that changes the way you see and experience things irrevocably: this is one of those. One of the best cases for evolutionary thinking of recent years and a really good counter for those who want to insist that we humans are a special case in the world
5. Everything's an Offer Better than any self-help book: at once a really good primer on how playfulness can help you to enjoy your life more and at the same time a great manual for living your life as a Super Social Ape. Well done, Rob!
Of course, Tribes was great (though I think Seth's got it back to front), as were a number of other books (like this great collection of essays around evolutionary themes that Alex edited) but these were my personal faves of the year
What would you recommend?